Campus Update w June 2015
Faculty participate in 3rd annual Summer
Teaching Academy
Select Valley City State University faculty members
participated in the third annual Summer Teaching
Academy on campus May 19–21, 2015. With the theme
“Engaged!,” the academy brought faculty members
together to focus on engaged learning. The group
discussed pedagogy and learning theory, and shared
strategies to improve teaching and learning at VCSU.
Donna James, Erin Klingenberg, Gilbert Kuipers, Jason
Laczkoski, Steven Listopad, Jenni Lou Russi, Jodi
Shorma, Laurel Westby and Angie Williams.
The teaching academy was led by the VCSU Instructional
Design Team, a group of teaching faculty and staff
charged with supporting faculty members’ pedagogical
strategies, especially in regard to efficiency, innovation
and technology in teaching and learning. The design
team includes Amber Aberle, Jim Boe, Diane Burr, Julee
Russell, Sam Stover and Shannon VanHorn.
Bass named NSAA faculty rep of year
Keynote speaker at the academy was Dave Yearwood,
professor and chair of the Technology Department at the
University of North Dakota. Yearwood led a workshop
on e-pedagogy, the use of tools and apps to engage
students in a better understanding of course material
and critical thinking.
Teaching academy participants included VCSU faculty
members Robin Allebach, Kathleen
Bennett-Zaun, Sharon Bratrud, Greg
Brister, Karri Dieken, Patricia Gegelman,
Dave Bass, assistant professor
in the School of Education and
Graduate Studies, was named the
North Star Athletic Association
(NSAA) Faculty Athletic
Representative of the Year during
the NSAA Summit meetings May
29 in Brookings, S.D. The award
was voted on by all faculty athletic
representatives (FAR) in the
conference.
Bass serves as VCSU’s FAR, a liaison between the
athletic department and the institution, as well as
handling any eligibility questions. He is also the NSAA
eligibility chair.
Bass will now be nominated for the Faculty Athletic
Representative of the Year award at the national level.
Robinson receives nonprofit leadership
award
Larry Robinson, VCSU executive director of university
advancement, received the Walt Odegaard Leadership
Award from the North Dakota Association of Nonprofit
Organizations (NDANO) during the Nonprofit Leadership
Conference May 27 in Fargo.
NDANO is the statewide membership association
advancing nonprofit organizations through advocacy
and public policy, education and training, resources and
research, cost-saving programs, and leadership and
networking.
Ground-breaking ceremony held
for wellness center
A ground-breaking ceremony for the Valley City Health,
Wellness and Physical Education Center was held
Wednesday, June 3, at the building site east of W.E.
Osmon Fieldhouse on the VCSU campus.
Larry Robinson (left) and Dan Madler, NDANO board president
The Walt Odegaard Leadership Award is given to an
individual with more than 15 years of leadership
experience who has made a difference by strengthening
North Dakota and its nonprofit sector through longterm commitment to leadership, volunteerism and
philanthropy.
Robinson has been executive director of the VCSU
Foundation since its inception in 1996. During his time
as executive director, the foundation has increased
student scholarships to more than $1 million each
academic year. Since the establishment of the North
Dakota Higher Education Challenge Fund in 2013, the
foundation has matched $1 million in appropriated funds
with $2 million in private funds to add $3 million to the
foundation’s assets.
Robinson has also served in the North Dakota Senate
since 1989. He has supported legislation providing
grants to foundations affiliated with North Dakota
institutes of learning and also sponsored numerous bills
which would support the nonprofit sector through grants
and income tax credits.
(l to r) Mark Lloyd, Grotberg Electric; Dick Gulmon, president, Valley City
Park Board; Larry Robinson, executive director of university advancement,
VCSU; Tisa Mason, president, VCSU; George Gaukler, president, Sheyenne
Valley Community Foundation; Paige Bjornson, president, Valley City/Barnes
County Development Corporation; Paul Johnson, director of field operations,
G6 Construction; Dan Miller, architect, JLG Architects; John Froelich,
commissioner, Barnes County, Bob Werkhoven, mayor, Valley City
The wellness center—a collaborative project of Valley
City State University, Valley City Parks and Recreation,
and the Sheyenne Valley Community Foundation—will
provide a much-needed facility for the greater Valley City
community.
VCSU students will be able to use the facility, which will
include court space, a pool/aquatic center, a walking
track, a cardiovascular fitness center, a weight room and
a children’s playground.
The facility will also include classroom and lab space for
the VCSU Health and Physical Education Department,
which has seen large increases in enrollment over the
years.
More information about the wellness center can be found
online at www.valleycitynd.org/svcf_wellnesscenter.php.